بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
4/1/1439
The Sunnah of Straightening the Rows
Al-Bukhari رحمه الله wrote many chapters regarding this matter in his Saheeh:
إلزاق (Ilzaq) means to stick.
"أقيموا" (Straighten) is an order.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
أَقِيمُوا الصُّفُوفَ وَحَاذُوا بَيْنَ الْمَنَاكِبِ وَسُدُّوا الْخَلَلَ وَلِينُوا بِأَيْدِي إِخْوَانِكُمْ وَلاَ تَذَرُوا فُرُجَاتٍ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَمَنْ وَصَلَ صَفًّا وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَ صَفًّا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ
Set the rows in order, stand shoulder to shoulder, close the gaps, be pliant in the hands of your brethren, and do not leave openings for the devil. If anyone joins up a row, Allah will join him up, but if anyone breaks a row, Allah will cut him off. [Sunan abi Dawud]
These are all commands.
وَلِينُوا بِأَيْدِي إِخْوَانِكُمْ - be pliant in the hands of your brethren
Be flexible and lenient. If your brother says go forward, go forward. If he says to come next to him, go next to him.
وَلاَ تَذَرُوا فُرُجَاتٍ لِلشَّيْطَانِ - and do not leave openings for the devil
If the devils see gaps within the rows they will come and corrupt your prayer.
وَمَنْ وَصَلَ صَفًّا وَصَلَهُ الله - If anyone connects a row, Allah will join him up
The Scholars that this means that Allah will bring that person closer to Him, forgive his sins, and be merciful to him.
وَمَنْ قَطَعَ صَفًّا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ - if anyone breaks a row, Allah will cut him off.
And whoever cuts a row will be kept away from the mercy of Allah.
Shaikh Ibn 'Uthaimeen رحمه الله said, "Straightening the row means that no one stands in front of anyone else, but is what is meant that the foot should not be in front of anyone else's foot? The answer is that what is meant is the shoulders at the top of the body, and the heels at the bottom of the body. Attention is paid to the heels because they are the foundation on which the body rests. The heel is at the bottom of the leg, and the leg is the pillar of the body, so this is what matters. As for the toes, they do not count, because toes vary; some people have long feet and some have short feet, so what matters is the heel."
The Ruling of Straightening the Rows: The majority of Scholars, among them Ibn 'Uthaimeen, Al-Bukhari, Ibn Taymiyah, are of the view that it is obligatory because it is a command of the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ warned us against not doing so. In another narration, he ﷺ said:
سَوُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ أَوْ لَيُخَالِفَنَّ اللَّهُ بَيْنَ وُجُوهِكُمْ
Make your rows straight or Allah will create division among you. [Sunan Ibn Majah]
This means that the hearts will be made to differ.
Source:
- IslamQA
Q. What about those who sit on chairs?
There are two cases:
a) Ibn 'Uthaimeen رحمه الله said that if a person is sitting from the beginning to the end of the Salat, he should position his chair on the same level as the feet of the people. The back legs of the chair should be alongside the feet of the people standing.
b) If the person stands in the beginning and sits down for Rukoo and Sujood he should put the chair behind the row and put his feet alongside the feet of others standing. If he then wants to sit he will sit a little behind, with the condition that he does not harm those behind him.
If you are able to stand and pray, you have to stand and pray. If you can make Sujood, for example, but not the sitting between the Sujood, you can sit on the chair during these positions. Fulfill the pillars of the prayer as much as you can. Some people take it lightly and sit on the chair throughout, although they can perform some of it.
Note: When you stand for congregational prayer, fill the first row first. Do not stand in the second row before the first row is completed. Begin the new row from exactly behind the Imam.
Some people always want to stand on the right because of the reward, but the person closest to the Imam has more reward even if he is on the left.
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